We were heartened by the strong turnout at the recent march and rally launching the lead-up to government’s three-day crime summit next month.
Fighting crime, after all, is a community effort that must involve everyone — not just the police and other law enforcers.
But for the Sept. 24-26 summit to succeed, it must go deeper than motivational speeches and catchy slogans. It must provide a forum for frank, substantive conversations that confront the root causes of crime in the Virgin Islands.
Such dialogue must include not only law enforcers and political leaders, but also voices from across the community: students, parents, teachers, counsellors, social workers, business owners, non-profit leaders and churches, among many others.
Participants will need to wrestle with difficult questions. Many centre on young people, who remain particularly vulnerable to gangs and other criminal influences.
Are our youths truly receiving the education and training needed to secure sustainable jobs that provide a decent quality of life here at home? Are they being offered extracurricular opportunities to keep them off the streets and constructively engaged from an early age?
If so, why are so many still being lured into crime? And who exactly is leading the gangs that have proliferated in recent years?
The summit must also take a close look at the police and other law-enforcement agencies. Officers often ask the public to share information to help solve crimes. But are they doing enough to earn that trust?
Are they tackling the drug trade at its source, rather than focusing only on young people at the bottom of the chain? Are they pursuing the so-called “business leaders” who exploit youths and profit from trafficking?
Other pressing questions loom as well.
Why have so few arrests followed the damning revelations that surfaced after former premier Andrew Fahie’s arrest in 2022? How will the territory fund the sweeping reforms recommended in the recent United Kingdom-commissioned law enforcement review? And who should foot that bill — the VI or the UK?
These questions may be uncomfortable, but they are essential if the territory is to move forward.
To be sure, progress has been made in recent years in the fight against crime. But recent violence and seizures of drugs and firearms underscore that much more needs to be done.
The coming summit is a valuable opportunity to reset the conversation. To have real impact, though, it must avoid platitudes and tackle the tough questions head-on in an open, honest and inclusive forum.
